Yvonne Jones takes back Liberal stronghold. In a much anticipated by-election, Jones has won with a landslide. We shall see how this will change and narrate the political landscape on the Canadian Political Scene given the new-found momentum behind the Liberal Party with leader Justin Trudeau. Meanwhile, former Conservative cabinet minister Peter Penashue has been left in the cold.

The Conservatives are sending public servants emails linking them to the Canada’s Economic Action Plan website and a survey which asks who they will vote for in the next election. The Union of National Defense Employees demands answer and Canadians deserve an explanation as more than $100 million in taxpayer money has been spent on propaganda while unemployment is still an issue.

Carbon levels exceeded 400PPM recently and no matter how much Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver tries to deny climate change, the world is watching and the world is not impressed. Award-winning NASA climatologist James Hansen came under fire by Oliver, being dismissed as an alarmist. Hansen responded, exposing the “Neanderthal” Conservative government that climate scientists have offered to educate. The world responded and the European Union designated the Alberta tar sands as “dirty” and Al Gore started his crusade.

The list of Conservative MPs against taxpayer-funded attack ads against Justin Trudeau has grown to include some well known names, notably and most recently, Defense Minister and Deputy leader Peter MacKay. While the PMO and Prime Minister Stephen Harper think it is alright to use taxpayer money to fund a campaign of smears and deceit, a growing number of Conservative MPs are standing up for their principle and rejecting petty and desperate politics.

Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson won’t probe potential conflicts of interest in Conservative candidate Peter Penashue’s campaign in Labrador after Green Party leader Elizabeth May launched a complaint. Penashue stepped down as Harper’s cabinet minister after acknowledging his campaign accepted illegal campaign donations in the 2011 election campaign. Meanwhile polling trends appear set to give Liberal candidate Yvonne Jones a landslide victory in the riding with over 60% of the popular vote.

Upon an audit made on the housing allowance and meal expenses of Liberal Senator Mac Harb and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, and on travelling expenses of Conservative Senator Pamela Wallin, thousands of dollars will have to be repaid. Senate caucus meetings will take place tomorrow to determine if the forensic audits should be forwarded to the RCMP. This comes at a time when the relevance and legitimacy of the Senate are questioned and the Official Opposition argues the institution should be abolished.

It is no secret that Canada’s economy is in rough shape. Anyone that looks at the job numbers sees permanent, well-paying jobs, have disappeared and whatever boom of jobs the Action Plan ads claim to have created are in fact temporary and forcefully drop wages in a time when the cost of living is rising rapidly.

A CBC News Investigation has found Canada will be paying up to ten times more than other countries to design ice-breaker ships for Arctic patrol. The design for the Canadian ship, set to be similar to the Norwegian model will cost $288 million to design while Norway paid less than $100 million to design and build their ships in 2002.

While the PMO and Prime Minister Stephen Harper think it is alright to use taxpayer money to fund a campaign of smears and deceit, a growing number of Conservative MPs are standing up for their principle and rejecting petty and desperate politics. Recently the Liberal Party got a leak of “10-percenter” ads the Conservatives planned to mail constituents on tax-payer dimes to attempt to smear Justin Trudeau.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson released his annual spring report which found lack of information to be the theme of the Conservatives’ program spending. Included in this analysis is $3.1 billion in funding for anti-terrorism which can’t be accounted for and off the radar. In times of economic uncertainty and austerity, can the Conservatives really afford to lose $3.1 billion without having it accounted for?